Invitation for applications for the appointment of a Director-General

With 2600 staff members, 1800 other paid personnel and some 13 000 scientific users from almost 100 countries, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, an intergovernmental organisation with its seat at Geneva, Switzerland, is the leading international laboratory for fundamental research in particle physics. The annual Budget of some 1 billion Swiss francs is funded by its 23 Member and Associate Member States. CERN is presently operating the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s most powerful particle accelerator that provides new insights into the origin and the structure of matter and into the forces governing the Universe.

The Director-General is the Chief Executive Officer and legal representative of the Organization. He/she is directly accountable to and executes the decisions of the CERN Council, the Organization’s supreme governing body composed of the representatives of the Member States.

The term of office of the present Director-General, Dr Fabiola Gianotti ends on 31 December 2020. The Council is therefore inviting applications for the appointment of a

Director-General

for a five-year term of office starting on 1 January 2021.

The position

The successful candidate will:

provide scientific and managerial leadership to the Organization;

lead the implementation of the approved scientific programme, with emphasis on the full exploitation of the scientific potential of the LHC;

develop strategic options for the long-term scientific programme of the Organization as an integral part of the European Strategy for Particle Physics;

be responsible for implementation of the European Strategy for Particle Physics in collaboration with the European national laboratories and institutes in the field;

have the capacity to manage and lead CERN at a moment when it is facing fundamental decisions about its future, and to drive the development of exceptional projects;

maintain and develop close relations with the Member and Associate Member States, with non-Member States co-operating with CERN, and with its worldwide scientific user community.

Requirements

The successful candidate will have:

the capacity for the scientific and managerial leadership of CERN, for representing the Organization in dealings with governments and other bodies in and outside the Member and Associate Member States and for the effective building of consensus within the Organization, the Member and Associate Member States and internationally;

outstanding expertise and a high reputation in particle physics and/or closely related fields;

excellent communication and negotiation skills.

Applicants are requested to address a letter of interest, with a detailed curriculum vitae, to the Chair of the Search Committee and send it to the CERN Council Secretariat [1] before 31 May 2019.

The Council is scheduled to make the appointment in December 2019. To allow the Director-General Designate sufficient time for consultation and familiarisation with CERN, a position within the Organization can be arranged for the year 2020.

Additional Salary Information: An appropriate remuneration and benefits package will be offered.

About CERN

About CERN
What is the universe made of? How did it start? Physicists at CERN are seeking answers, using some of the world's most powerful particle accelerators
This content is archived on the CERN Document Server
At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. They use the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the basic constituents of matter – the fundamental particles. The particles are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives the physicists clues about how the particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature.
Size: 2500+ Employees
Benefits: International Organisation

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